November Thanks day 3 & 4

I am thankful for my mommy. That sounds very cliche, but it's true. If I am ever in a pinch, she is there at any hour of the night. She drove back and forth to worcester with me four different times when I was in false labor with my oldest and I just KNEW that this time it was going to be real. She's been by my bedside for the birth of all three of my boys, and cut two of their cords. I love our weekly shopping trips where we try to out coupon the other. We walk down the aisles together with our own separate carts and coupon binders, browsing for unadvertised sales to match our coupons with. We're constantly swapping coupons right in the store aisle when I see my favorite yogurt is on sale or she needs just one more coupon to score a great toothpaste deal. We're constantly in touch on facebook--posting photos and writing on each other's wall. We're even in the same groups and have introduced each other to our own people.

My mom, with my sister and I

I am thankful for my work managers. It's been a long time since I've had a group of managers who would literally do anything to make my life easier. I missed Halloween with my boys because of an issue caused by the snow storm that caused us to not receive our delivery until 36 hours later. Carrie was by my side until it was solved--13 hours into her shift. When the town of Webster rescheduled trick or treating until friday night--our busiest night of the week--she spent her only real day off covering my dinner shift so I could do Halloween right with my kids. She's taken on the role of my unofficial assistant, learning how to do inventory, interviews, orientations, and payroll. There is nothing i ask of her that does not get done. Michael picks up so many small jobs, I couldn't even count them. He's always reorganizing my office, sorting through my invoices, entering transfers...and I never have to ask. My new managers--Dylan and Emily are like sponges, trying to learn how to do everything possible. Kayla's been with me almost since day one. She's always making sure bank runs get done. I never have to second guess if the deposits got dropped off or if we have enough coin. She is constantly staying late. Garrett is constantly helping out--he comes in early and goes to other stores when we are in a pinch. He takes feedback with a good attitude and is consistently trying to better himself for the store. Shane has started a crusade to improve our procedures and cleanliness--and it's paying off big time. He's exceeded the expectations I had of him when I began his training. Estefania  is the heart and soul of our team--she's always happy and singing. I assigned her uniform inventory, and it's always done when I need it to be with out reminders. She's constantly moving around her schedule to help us out.

 my manager, Michael crawling underneath equipment to help out

30 days of thanks, day 1&2

Lot's of people on facebook, as well as quite a few fellow bloggers are doing a thing called "30 days of thanks." They say one thing (or more) each day that they are thankful for during the entire month of November. Why pick only one day a year to express thanks or all the little (and not so little) things in life? I've jumped onto this bandwagon head first. Here's hoping I can keep up daily! :)

The first thing I am thankful for, I could go on about for days. The four men in my life. My 3 boys and my husband. They are the biggest and most important thing in my life. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a big smile on the face of one of my boys. I love watching them run back and forth and play cars and animals. I loved all the first steps, and first words. The first smiles that I insisted were not gas. The slobbery open mouth baby kisses, the tight toddler hugs, and the current popular "punchies." My boys literally light up my life. My husband is my rock. I couldn't have asked for anyone better. He's an amazing father, and one of the most supportive men I've ever met. He always finds a way to make it work when I need to run into work for "just a few minutes" on my day off and end up stuck there for hours. When my mom and I need girl time to go shopping and frighten cashiers with our coupons binders. When my managers have issues at 2am and have to call me so I can walk them though it. Or lock their keys in their car at 4am and we have to go down to unlock the store. I don't know what I would do with out him.

My three little boys <3

old navy frost free coats!

I have recently been chosen to sample old navy outerwear. i received two coupons in the mail (one for me, one for a friend) to pick any type of outwear to try. So Carrie and I went to the Old Navy store in the blackstone valley mall. We both liked the lightweight frost free jackets (hers in black, mine in blue). We both work at teh same fast food restaurant and spend some time in the freezer unloading deliveries, as well as counting inventory and rotating stock. We wanted a coat that wouldn't be too heavy, but would keep us from freezing in the walk in. This coat is lighter than it looks (I wish it were a tiny bit thicker--but the heavier jackets were a tad too much for what I wanted), but looks amazing. The colors were bright, and the coats look trendy. I would have loved to get this coat in the pink color that the matching vests come in, but the blue works nicely also. Since I have picked up the coat, I have worn it everyday. I receive lots of compliments on it. It is the perfect jacket for fall/early winter in New England.

 Carrie and I styling in our frost free coats at work

Crowdtap is awesome!!

I am a part of the crowdtap community. You get points and occasionally money for filling out "quick hits" where you pick your choice out of a group (ie. How often do you visit this certain company). you can also get selected to participate in discussions, which are more in depth conversations (ie what is your favorite chip brand and why?). I have been trying since I started to get selected for the sample and share option where you receive a coupon for a free item for you and a friend and you give your feedback. I finally got chosen today!! So stoked! I can't wait to share photos and feedback! All my work with crowdtap is paying off :) It's def worth checking out here!

Preschool and Canadian Boyfriends?

My oldest started pre-school this week *tear* He loves it so far...day three was today. Daddy will be picking him up shortly. He's gotten good reports his first two days. So proud of my big boy! 

               No mommy...I will not look at the camera! I want to PLAY!

A side note...a woman in my mommy group just posted this link: I am your Canadian Boyfriend. Best.Website.Ever. I have currently wasted a half hour looking at old posts...love love love. If you love witty, funny, and adorable...check it out. :)

I don't care, what you say

This is probably my favorite Hanson song right now. I literally can't stop listening to it.

Makes me so excited for October! :)

Reading trends

I've discovered that as of recent years (2009ish) I've had my reading backwards...in high school and college I read a lot of everything...almost every genre. The last few years have been almost exclusively young adult literature. What I should have been reading in high school! I read an article today that made me realize I'm not alone, Why you should be reading YA. For the last few years, my book life has revolved around the Twilight series (several times over!), the Mortal Instruments, The Hunger Games, Vampire Diaries, the House of Night...to name a few. Why are these books so captivating? I imagine the escape from everyday life--I'm a busy mom to three boys and a store manager (I feel like I'm always at the golden arches!). I have a non-existent social life. These books full of vampires, shadow hunters, and things that could not possibly happen enthrall me. It's addicting. This obsession for story lines written for teenagers has crossed over to my viewing habits-my most recent television favorites being Degrassi, Teen Mom, and the Secret Life of the American Teenager. Teen Nick's recent showings of shows popular during my own teenage years hasn't helped...I have a feeling staying up until 2 or 3am to get a fix of Keenan and Kel or Clarissa will be a regular thing. Not to say I don't enjoy things targeted to my own age group--I enjoy House and Criminal Minds regularly. But given the choice, I might just pick a teen show.

sweet times at price chopper...

Went to price chopper today. i needed to do a small shopping trip as we were out of a alot of things, but still had a good supply of the major things. We ended up spending $66.28 and saved $38.30. :) I only walked in with 3 coupons, but scored a few good ones from the machine that scans your card (very unusual!) some highlights:

pede ravioli 1/2 off ($1.29)
lay's chips 1/2 off ($2.14-got some tomato and basil...looks interesting. while hubby picked out regular)
belg. mozzarella ball 1/2 off ($2.39)
tomato on the vine $1.49 lb (cant wait for yummy tomato and mozz salad tonight!)
pizza dough 99cents
price chopper mac & cheese 12 for $5.99 plus a 50cent store coupon ($5.49 for 12)
chef boyarde mini raviolis $1 each, 50 cent off coupon that got doubled...3 for $2 total :)
price chopper white bread $1.19 (store coupon for 75 cents off 2...82 cents a loaf)
luigi italian ice $1.68, 50 cent coupon doubled...68 cents.
wise popcorn $1.49...50 cent coupon doubled...49 cents
price chopper sliced american cheese $3, store coupon for 75 cents off..$2.25

not too bad! :):)

First venture...

I haven't had a blog since my sporadically updated live journal account many moons ago. And that was mostly quiz results and the like. I spent a lot of time in my teenage years finding out which Hanson was my soul mate and how many kids would I have.I have just recently joined a website called "crowd tap" (http://crowdtap.com) that encourages blogging about products and opinions. Reading through, I decided that that's something I want to do. Word of mouth is such a powerful tool, especially in this day and age of social networking. I would love to share experiences, and gain insight through this endeavor. What's the worse that could happen?? :)